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'The Walking Dead' Midseason Premiere Review: The Suicide King

AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ is back, but the fate of the cast is less certain.

[Obligatory spoiler warning for every episode of The Walking Dead.]

In the first half of Season 3 of AMC’s The Walking Dead, we witnessed the decline of our chief protagonist, Rick Grimes, into what appeared to be an ever more fleeting grasp on reality.

First it was his rage and his guilt both over his wife’s relationship with his friend Shane and his eventual killing of Shane. Then, when Lori died during child birth, Rick slipped over the edge. He began to hear imaginary phone calls from the dead.

But then, for a moment, it appeared his ghosts had abandoned him, that he would pull through. The old Rick emerged from that dark place and came back into the world, ready to bash in some zombie skulls and protect his loved ones.

In the midseason premiere, we find ourselves only moments after where we left off (hanging from a cliff.) Newly reunited brothers, Daryl and Merle Dixon, have been pitted against one another in a fight to the death, hemmed in by walkers and a bloodthirsty crowd.

Rick and Maggie show up guns blazing and the four of them—including Merle—escape in the confusion, leaving a very angry and deranged Governor behind. Andrea is also left behind, though I can’t quite ascertain what’s keeping her in Woodbury now that she knows the Governor is a cold-blooded maniac.

After the escape the Dixon brothers part ways with the fast-dwindling group; Daryl won’t come back to the prison if his brother isn’t welcome, and Merle is the furthest thing from welcome. As if his charming personality weren’t enough, his savage beating of Glenn and his eager willingness to aid the Governor in his sadism certainly was. Rick seems equally determined to rid himself of Michonne, a character so abysmal at even the most basic communication skills she may as well be from a foreign country with no grasp of the English language.

Safe and sound back at the prison, Rick and co. deliver the bad news: Oscar has been killed; Daryl has departed. The crew is as small as it’s ever been. Everyone is downcast. Glenn is traumatized and has no idea how to handle the sexual assault against Maggie. A wedge has grown between them.

They’re outgunned, outnumbered, and weary to the bone. Time for reinforcements, suggests Hershel.

The newcomers—Tyreese and his motley crew—are not necessarily trustworthy. While Tyreese and Sasha seem like good upstanding walker-killers, the other two–Ben and Allen—are already cooking up a coup. Little do they know, this makes them extremely expendable. As generic and unsympathetic as they are, I suspect they won’t last long, though I hope that Tyreese and Sasha become show regulars.

Rick isn’t fond of Hershel’s advice and refuses Tyreese and company flat-out. Hershel begins to talk him into the idea when a vision appears: Lori, her face shrouded in shadows, in her wedding dress. She’s staring ghoulishly down at the proceedings. Rick begins to mutter “no” over and over again.

Apparently the make-believe phone calls were not the full extent of Rick’s mental breakdown. He begins shouting, pacing, waving a gun about. ”What do you want from me?” he screams. “I can’t help you! Get out!”

The newcomers quickly flee, while the old-timers look on in shock and horror. Hershel, who knew about the phone calls, is worried but helpless.

For my part, I think a healthy dose of sleep is in order for our ex-sheriff. I’m not sure if Rick has slept in days and his mental state could very well be crumbling due to his exhaustion and the overwhelming stress of survival, grief, and constant death.

The baby haunts him as well. It was only moments between his reunion with his youngest child and his vision. His guilt and sorrow haunts him, and the baby is a cruel reminder.

All told, I’m not sure this was the strongest episode for a midseason premiere, though the end was intense. It had a transitional feel to it with Daryl’s departure and the lull in action. And so we are left not knowing where the wind is blowing.

Andrea is upset with the Governor but shows no signs of leaving; quite the contrary. Things happened in the episode, but not enough to get the ball rolling.

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You just poorly explained the episode in a horribly dull way. The only part that was a review was in the 2nd to last paragraph. I’d hate to read your review on a house hold item. “I started off by reading the package of the food I was going to prepare, I then removed the food from the package, my dog was sniffing at my feet. I opened the dish drawer and removed a plate, I began to set the food on the plate but then realized I had misplaced my napkins…….Oh and the microwave works fine.” Forbes needs a new writer!!! Like come on! Holy pancake batman.

I love your review on video games, but this was really poor. 85% of it was just a retelling of the episode, 10% retelling of past episodes, and only 5% actual review. I was actually quite excited to see what you thought about it, since everyone I’ve talked to about it is either really happy with it or insanely mad about it., but this told us almost nothing we didn’t already know from watching the show. I realize that you put this out very soon after it actually aired so you really didn’t have much time to write it, but I’d love if you took more time to come up with an actual review and posted it a day or two later.

Well there wasn’t much to say here. The episode, unlike many of this season’s, was pretty flat. So a recap and a few words of disappointment was all it got. I’ve written a review of each episode this season, and some go into greater depth if, that is, they merit it.

I thought you did a great job, given the episode. There was a lot of tying up of lose ends from the mid-season ender, so only a few things new to write about. And you are spot on about Michonne: she barely speaks and that is soooooo frustrating! I wish they would give her more lines and develop her character more. I was so excited when they introduced her, but she feels so one-dimensional. Pooh on the writers.

Make sure to watch all the trailers and teasers for Walking Dead’s next episode in MLive’s blog, where we discuss the state of Rick and The Governor: http://www.mlive.com/tv/index.ssf/2013/02/the_walking_dead_chaos_ensues.html

Here is my commentary on the social and psychological symbolism of last night’s episode. It includes thoughts on the Governor’s eyepatch, blood being thicker than water and ethical codes. http://www.squidoo.com/walking-dead-symbols-as-social-and-psychological-commentary

I agree with Randy. This isn’t a review, but a summary. Also you attempting to justify a very poor review doesn’t do it any favors either. Not that this is any of my business, but as a professional (if that is what you actually are) you should be taking pride in what you do and every single thing you publish should be top notch and also meet a certain standard. If you don’t like reviewing TV, then maybe another job would be a better fit? Just saying…

Sorry, but that’s just what I call excuses. I was just looking forward to reading a review about the episode but ended up just finding a summaries. Also, you aren’t the only guy who did this, but if you guys are going to call your stuff reviews, please make them reviews. I agree with your earlier “comment” that this episode was relatively flat, but if you can just add that to your “review” that would be great. I’m pretty sure I’ve come across some of your other reviews but haven’t really paid attention. I’ll keep a look out for them in the future.

But I do say it’s a flat episode in the review, don’t I? In so many words? Also, I was tying the episode to an earlier review (The Madness of King Rick) in which I go into greater depth on Rick’s mental condition. I just don’t think this episode warranted much commentary. It was pretty ho-hum.

I disagree that it was a flat,and even if it was, that’s no excuse for your lack of analysis regarding the episode. If you read some of the other reviews of the episode, or of anything at all, you might understand the difference between a review and an simple retelling of events depicted in the episode. The LA times did a bang up review of the show, complete with perspective and insight. You’ve given nothing but an overly long synopsis. Sorry, but maybe television reviews aren’t your thing.